What is our role and responsibility as settlers on traditional Indigenous territories? Explore a pathway taken by an arts and culture organizer living in Secwepemc’ulucw, in Williams Lake.
Guided by mentors and the multi-dimensional aspects of land-based learning, there are times when the work of Indigenous - Settler Right Relationship building involves long-term contextualization. Historical harms and impacts of colonization provide a lens to understand that previous systems and acts of oppression and dispossession of Indigenous Rights, Lands and Life extend and deeply affect the policies and practices of settlers today.
When considering the various teachings of local waterways, we encounter Salmon. Linking our journey to Right Relationship with Indigenous People to Salmon means we must understand the energy and effort required of us in becoming anti-racist, individuals who stand against oppressive systems and work to dismantle them. In this section, we'll also begin exploring Meeka Morgan's Masters Thesis, introducing us to the lived experiences of Indian Residential School Survivors form her home community of St'uxtews.
Bodies of water, including rivers, have been associated with spirituality and ritual. I have always believed in the power of water. Is it because of its clarity, or the essence of life attached to it? Perhaps its also because we are reflected in its surface. As I pause to consider that felt sense of awe that comes upon me when I am near water, I am reminded of the need to clear our biases to perceive the world with clarity and compassion. Can we see ourselves in a larger context, within systems of nature and systems of imposed order, examining the waters that have been muddied by a colonial narrative? Sometimes, the river’s flow is turbulent, full of uncomfortable truths. This is how it might feel to engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Reports.
The practice of deep listening requires a great deal of self-awareness, and practices to calm the self. Anti-racism work asks us to also inquire and address the discomfort of our inherent biases, and the heavy feelings that arise when we find out difficult truths. In this passage, I explore the ways Water showed up as a guide for the work in learning, un-learning, and being humble enough to listen deeply to my mentors and the lands we visited.
What is my role and responsibility as a settler on traditional and unceded Indigenous Territory? If you are curious about Truth & Reconciliation, and understanding what it might take to be in true allyship with Indigenous communities, my mentors have offered incredible wisdom from their lived experiences. Given this opportunity to listen and learn, the task at hand is to ‘bear witness’.
This writing as an invitation to settlers who long to explore a new way of being in ComeUNITY. Our priorities are shifting, must shift, if we are to find accord with the earth, with each other, and come to terms with the legacy of dispossessing Indigenous Peoples of their rightful lands and diminishment of their culture. In this passage, I share with you the foundations of acknowledgment and gratitude that anchor this process.
It all begins with Acknowledgment - for the land, the water, the mentors who have guided the way, and the funding organizations who opened the door to a learning journey. How do we go about creating Right Relationship with Indigenous people and communities? Join Venta as she shares a unique personal and professional pathway, led by her two Secwepemc mentors, Helen Sandy and Meeka Noelle Morgan.
